Access To Social Networks Research Articles

The relationship between inequality and poverty in developing countries: mitigating role of virtual social network and internet access in schools

PurposeThis research complements the extant literature on poverty and inequality by assessing the role of “virtual social networks” and “internet access in schools” in mitigating the incidence of inequality on poverty.Design/methodology/approachUsing secondary data, the focus of the study is on developing countries and the empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions.FindingsThe study shows that inequality unconditionally increases poverty while “virtual social networks” and “internet access in schools” negatively moderate the effect of inequality on poverty. An extended analysis provides thresholds of “virtual social networks” and “internet access in schools” at which, the unconditional positive effect of inequality on poverty is completely dampened and above which, negative incidences on poverty are apparent. These attendant information technology thresholds are below average levels in the sampled countries.Originality/valueThe study complements that extant literature by assessing the role of virtual social networks and internet access in schools in mitigating the incidence of inequality on poverty in developing countries. Policy implications are discussed in the light of Sustainable Development Goals.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2023-0695

The Psychological Significance of the Social Services Situation on Improving Municipal Communication in Social Policy

The paper aimed to show the psychological significance of a functional social system at the local level in the context that a functional network of social services improves the quality of life in a community. The problem was discussed using the case of an analysis of social service providers in a particular municipality. Citizen satisfaction is a key objective of public policy and the goal of every human individual is to move towards satisfaction with his or her life. An accessible social network improves the subjective perception of their problems among residents who find themselves in a difficult social situation. The task of local government is then to provide sufficient social service options to communicate with its citizens. The analysis carried out showed the limits and challenges for the future direction of the social network. This must necessarily mean improving the communication strategy of the municipality as a guarantor of social policy. At the center of this effort is the user of social services or the citizen who is a potential future user.

Geographical Tweets Based Current Affairs Prediction Using Hybrid Features

Twitter serves as a prominent and freely accessible social networking platform, enabling registered and authorized users to share their opinions and reviews through concise messages known as tweets. This research aims to conduct sentiment analysis on a Twitter dataset, seeking to predict and analyze current affairs based on user behaviour and opinions. The scope of current affairs encompasses a wide range of topics, including product reviews, political discourse, movie ratings, and more, expressed in both real-time streaming and offline data on the Twitter platform. During the feature extraction phase, a hybrid approach is employed, incorporating features such as acronyms, synonyms, and emoticons utilized by users in their tweets. Additionally, a hybrid dictionary is introduced, and instead of relying solely on unigrams and bigrams, a novel algorithm, n-gram, is implemented for more comprehensive analysis. This paper delves into various methodologies, specifically focusing on multiclass classification, and introduces a proposed system along with its noteworthy results. The research contributes to the understanding of user sentiments and behaviours on Twitter, offering valuable insights into diverse current affairs.

Social Entrepreunership In Fish Farming

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in the economy as it facilitates the production of goods and services and job creation. The agriculture sector including fish farming is one of the main livelihood sources for the community and has potential for growth through entrepreneurship programs. However, there are several obstacles in achieving this goal, such as the low level of community education and knowledge as well as limited social networking access. The fishing pond farmers in Kalanganyar Village, Sedati Sub-district, Sidoarjo Regency face similar challenges with additional complexity from external barriers such as fluctuating operational costs for fish farming. This economically causes fishing pond farmers to only be able to utilize their ponds for a single source of main income and have not been able to utilize it to find alternative income sources. These challenges hinder the development of programs to improve the economic conditions of fishing pond farmers. An approach that could address these problems is social entrepreneurship focusing on increasing collaboration between fishing pond farmers and the surrounding community. Cooperation plays an important role in economic growth by facilitating business expansion. Cooperation becomes a core component in the planning and implementation process by involving fishing pond farmers and the community as active participants. The fields of cooperation need to be developed to increase the welfare of the community.

The smartphone as a “significant other”: interpersonal dependency and attachment in maladaptive smartphone and social networks use

Smartphones are increasingly widespread throughout the world and, although smartphones provide various benefits, excessive and maladaptive use is often reported. Given the penetration of smartphones in the individual’s daily life, it is relevant to identify the mechanisms sustaining their use, including the affective bond that the owner may develop with the device. The aim of the current study is to test a novel model to explain smartphone and Social Network Sites (SNS) use from an interpersonal perspective. We hypothesized that adult attachment style and interpersonal patterns (i.e., features of interpersonal dependency) generalize to the emotional bond with the mobile device, interacting with psychological correlates and background factors to predict smartphone and SNS consumption. 341 nonclinical adults (57.2% females; age M = 35.5, SD = 14.6) completed a battery consisting of the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Relationship Profile Test, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Young Adult Attachment to Phone Scale, and the Social Network Intensity and Social Network Access via Mobile phone Applications. A multi-mediation model supported the hypothesis regarding the influence of interpersonal style in the relationship of the individual with their smartphone and use of SNS. A parallel between attachment style and the emotional bond with the smartphone emerged, with anxious attachment style and destructive overdependence being potential risk factors for maladaptive smartphone use especially in individuals involved in a romantic relationship. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and intervention strategies towards smartphone dependency.

Online Social Network Effects in Labor Markets: Evidence from Facebook's Entry to College Campuses

Abstract Using quasi-random variation from Facebook's entry to college campuses, I exploit a natural experiment to estimate the effect of online social network access on future earnings. I estimate that access to Facebook for an additional year in college causes a .62 percentile increase in a cohort's average earnings, translating to an average wage increase of around $970 in 2014, and decreases income inequality within a cohort. I provide indirect evidence that wage increases come through the channel of increased social ties between college alumni, strengthened employment networks, and increased match value between students' majors and later occupations.

E-Brightpass: A Secure way to access social networks on smartphones

Social network providers offer a variety of entertainment services in exchange for end users’ personal information, such as their identity. The majority of users access social networking sites via their smartphones, which they utilize in conjunction with a traditional authenticator like a password. On the other hand, aggregators, which pull content from multiple social networks, are often used to get into smartphone apps that may involve mobile ticketing, identification, and access control. They are a potential target for malware and spyware injections due to their powerful position. Malware is capable of circumventing authentication mechanisms in order to get access to social networking services, which may result in stealing the personal information of users. To deflect any type of attack from malicious software, BrightPass [22], a malware-resistant method based on screen brightness, was introduced. Conversely, we have demonstrated that the BrightPass user’s personally identifiable information, such as PIN numbers, may be recovered by evaluating the variations between the recorded input from many authentication sessions. We have then offered various enhanced BrightPass versions to address the observed vulnerability. Our enhanced BrightPass versions are both simple and secure to use when it comes to accessing social networks via mobiles.

Digital health innovation to prevent relapse and support recovery in young people with first-episode psychosis: A pilot study of Horyzons-Canada

Digital health innovations may help to improve access to psychosocial therapy and peer support; however, the existence of evidence-based digital health interventions for individuals recovering from a first-episode psychosis (FEP) remains limited. This study aims to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and pre-post outcomes of Horyzons-Canada (HoryzonsCa), a Canadian adaptation of a digital mental health intervention consisting of psychosocial interventions, online social networking, and clinical and peer support moderation. Using a convergent mixed-methods research design, we recruited participants from a specialized early intervention clinic for FEP in Montreal, Canada. Twenty-three participants (mean age = 26.8) completed baseline assessments, and 20 completed follow-up assessments after 8 weeks of intervention access. Most participants provided positive feedback on general experience (85%, 17/20) and the utility of Horyzons for identifying their strengths (70%, 14/20). Almost all perceived the platform as easy to use (95%, 19/20) and felt safe using it (90%, 18/20). There were no adverse events related to the intervention. Participants used HoryzonsCa to learn about their illness and how to get better (65%, 13/20), receive support (60%, 12/20), and access social networking (35%, 7/20) and peer support (30%, 6/20). Regarding adoption, 65% (13/20) logged in at least 4 times over 8 weeks. There was a nonsignificant increase in social functioning and no deterioration on the Clinical Global Impression Scale. Overall, HoryzonsCa was feasible to implement and perceived as safe and acceptable. More research is needed with larger sample sizes and using in-depth qualitative methods to better understand the implementation and impact of HoryzonsCa.

Testing the Differential Access Hypothesis That Black Kidney Transplant Candidates Perceive Social Network Access to Fewer Potential Living Donors Than White Candidates.

Many studies of Black-White disparities in living donor kidney transplantation hypothesize that they were partially due to Black-White differences in candidate social network access to healthy, willing donors. This differential access hypothesis has not been tested using directly measured social network data. Do black kidney transplant candidates have perceived lower social network access to health and/or willing living donors than white candidates? A cross-sectional survey that measured the social network members was collected in 2015. Black-White differences in patient counts of perceived healthy and/or willing potential donors in social networks, and individual network members' probability of being perceived healthy and/or willing, were compared using logistic and negative binomial regression models. The survey included 66 kidney transplant candidates reporting on 1474 social network members at a large Southeastern US transplant center in 2015. Black and White patients had similar access to perceived healthy, likely potential donors (86% vs 87% had 1 or more, P = .92; 5.91 vs 4.13 mean counts, P = .20) and perceived healthy, agreed potential donors (56% vs 48%, P = .54; 1.77 vs 1.74, P = .97). Black patients' network members were individually more likely to be perceived healthy and likely potential donors (26% vs 21%, P = .04), and White patients' network members were more likely to have agreed (13% vs 9%, P = .03), but these differences were statistically insignificant in demographically adjusted models. Black and White transplant candidates perceived access to similar numbers of potential donors in their social networks. This result does not support the differential access hypothesis.

Adaptation Strategies and Livelihood Vulnerability of Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam: A Case of the Khmer Community in Mekong Delta

This study investigates the impact of climate change adaptation strategies on the livelihood vulnerability of ethnic minority households in Vietnam, specifically the Khmer people in the Mekong River Delta. Research data were collected from 426 Khmer farming households in three provinces—namely Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, and Kien Giang—which comprise the largest Khmer population. Vulnerability is measured using the Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) with weights based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results show that Khmer households have a moderate level of vulnerability, and that Khmer households in Tra Vinh province have a significantly higher level of vulnerability than the other two localities. Multivariate regression analysis reveals that adaptation strategies have a significant impact on reducing livelihood vulnerabilities. Moreover, results highlight the relationship of the livelihood vulnerability level to factors such as education level of household head, gender of household head, household's land area, household labor force, dependency ratio, poor household, housing status, agricultural and nonagricultural income, information access, social network access, local support policies, credit access, climatic shocks, and perception of climate change.

The Relationship between Social Support and Hopelessness among Iranian Students during Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has major consequences for public health worldwide, especially for mental health. Hope is a dynamic motivational system that empowers one to achieve goals. Social support similarly increases the feeling of well-being to cope with hopelessness. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between social support and hopelessness in students studying at the Iran University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic considering the importance of performance in medical sciences students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed continuously for five months, from January to May 2021, at the Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, where the Persian language is predominantly spoken. Participants were included if they could consent to participate in the study and internet access and membership in social networks. Those who did not fully engage with our data collection tools were excluded. A demographic information form, the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS) were provided to students via social networks. After students (n=300) completed the questionnaires, data were analyzed through SPSS software version 21. Results: The mean age of participants was 23.46 (18-51) years. The mean score of hopelessness among the participants was 6.2. The majority of students (35%) had mild hopelessness, 34.7% had a minimum level of hopelessness, 26.7% had a moderate level of hopelessness, and 11% had a high level of hopelessness. The mean social support score was 59.49, with 52.3% of students having a high level of social support. The correlation coefficient between social support and hopelessness was - 0.401 (p < 0.001). Field of study, degree level, marital status and lifestyle were significantly correlated with hopelessness. Also, only marital status had a significant relationship with social support among students. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that out of the variables included in the model, only the variable of social support had a significant effect on the hopelessness score, so this variable predicted 18% of the hopelessness score. Conclusion: Given the inverse relationship between social support and hopelessness, it is suggested to increase the level of social support for students to improve their sense of hopelessness.

BRIDGING THE CULTURAL DIVIDE: THE CREATIVE USE OF DIGITAL MEDIA TO ENGAGE ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES AROUND MENTAL HEALTH

Current data suggest that adolescents spend significant time online and that their use of digital sources to obtain health information and access social networks that support health behaviors far eclipses that of their adult counterparts. In addition, cross-cultural and cross-generational differences in their understanding of mental health often complicate communication between patients and providers as well as adolescents and their families. Given adolescents’ familiarity with the digital landscape, digital interventions represent a unique opportunity for providers to engage adolescents and their families around mental health in a cross-culturally and cross-generationally meaningful way.

Digital Learning of English Beyond Classroom: EFL Learners’ Perception and Teaching Activities

The shift of language learning from face-to-face classroom interaction to online learning beyond classroom amidst global pandemic of Covid-19 has changed how teachers and students deal with teaching and learning activities. To address the issue, the present study sheds some light on 71 EFL learners’ perception toward digital learning of English beyond classroom and a range of English learning activities in social distancing measures. Drawing on the data from a web-based survey and Focus Group Discussion, the results indicated that the students positively perceived the use of digital technology as a means of language learning amidst the global pandemic. It was also revealed that digital learning of English beyond classroom could potentially be conducted by means of available social networking sites such as Youtube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google classroom, and Facebook. Some activities using digital learning of English beyond classroom are clearly highlighted. The results of this study contribute to the realm of language teaching in offering some insights for designing beyond classroom activities by augmenting the accessible social networking sites.

Digital Learning of English Beyond Classroom: EFL Learners’ Perception and Teaching Activities

The shift of language learning from face-to-face classroom interaction to online learning beyond classroom amidst global pandemic of Covid-19 has changed how teachers and students deal with teaching and learning activities. To address the issue, the present study sheds some light on 71 EFL learners’ perception toward digital learning of English beyond classroom and a range of English learning activities in social distancing measures. Drawing on the data from a web-based survey and Focus Group Discussion, the results indicated that the students positively perceived the use of digital technology as a means of language learning amidst the global pandemic. It was also revealed that digital learning of English beyond classroom could potentially be conducted by means of available social networking sites such as Youtube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google classroom, and Facebook. Some activities using digital learning of English beyond classroom are clearly highlighted. The results of this study contribute to the realm of language teaching in offering some insights for designing beyond classroom activities by augmenting the accessible social networking sites.

Understanding the lived experience of lung cancer: a European social media listening study

BackgroundSocial media platforms are increasingly being used by stakeholders to generate, access, and share health-related information and experiences. Lung cancer is the most common cancer, impacting > 2 million patients globally. This observational study utilized a social listening approach to analyze social media trends and gain insights into stakeholder perceptions of lung cancer.MethodsThis social media study retrospectively collated data from open access blogs, forums, and social networking sites. Social media posts were collected between June 2019–May 2020 from 14 European countries. Using social media aggregator tools, posts comprising lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer-specific terms were extracted. Manual and automated relevancy algorithms filtered the extracted information to provide the relevant dataset. This contextualized dataset was further mined to generate the final data for analysis.ResultsOf 1360 conversations analyzed, 42% were generated by patients/caregivers and 14% by healthcare professionals (HCPs). A majority of patients were 51–70 years old (approximately 50%) and 91% (n = 500/550) had late-stage cancer. Treatment (35%) and disease awareness (30%) were among the most discussed topic of the patient journey. Although the overall treatment sentiment was neutral, chemotherapy was the treatment type with the highest associated negative sentiment (28%); fewer negative sentiments were associated with immunotherapy (9%) and targeted therapy (2%), due to perceptions of longer survival outcomes and fewer side effects. In conversations that discussed clinical endpoints, “survivability” and “overall survival” (47 and 30%, respectively; n = 539) were most frequently mentioned by stakeholders. HCPs mostly used technical terms, whereas patients and caregivers used colloquial terms such as “getting rid of cancer”. Emotional wellness was identified to have a huge impact on quality of life in lung cancer. Delay or treatment cancellations due to COVID-19, lack of effective treatments and funding, and lack of empathy by physicians emerged as the key unmet needs among patients/caregivers.ConclusionsSocial listening proved to be an effective tool to explore stakeholders’ perceptions and their key unmet needs, typically not available in published literature or databases, and provides HCPs with valuable insights into the distress, doubts, and needs of lung cancer patients and caregivers.

Exploring the Characteristics of Gender Digital Divide among Secondary School Teachers in Bangladesh

The study contend that with the rapid diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs), female teachers’ unequal access to the new information technologies should deserve additional attention to the ‘second order digital divide’- differences in skills and use of ICTs which was dominantly focused on ‘first order digital divide’ by which we refer just to ‘have’ and ‘have-nots’ of digital resources like internet, computer. Information on characteristics of digital divide i.e. three successive stages of access (material, skill and use) were collected using a semi structured questionnaire along with qualitative method of in-depth interviews and key informant interviews. Survey data were presented by frequency table and Interviews were analyzed with a thematic analysis technique using Van Dijk model. This article explores how the divide comes and which one is the dominant factor reflecting digital divide based on gender. I argue that though female teachers are increasingly internet users, they continue to experience device divide and significant gaps in skills, usage, and online social network access as well. This study argues that government should focuses closer on second order digital divide and female teachers’ self inspiration required too.

Library social networking sites for fostering startup business globalization through strategic partnerships

University libraries can be powerful cornerstones of an open innovation ecosystem for entrepreneurs. They are a source of worldwide market research for entrepreneurs looking to expand outside national borders with their existing enterprises. Social networking sites (SNS), which have been widely adopted by libraries as a means of engaging with students, are increasingly being utilized to provide market information to business communities. SNS can assist startups in forming and maintaining strong strategic ties with libraries to obtain ongoing support for globalization efforts. This column discusses the numerous benefits and some problems of using social media to develop such collaborations, particularly in terms of giving useful market insights to entrepreneurs (implementing partnerships). The issues of SNS adaptation for developing such relationships can be addressed with prototyping technologies. To address the needs of global startups, libraries must take advantage of social network access, overcoming the need for meetings on library grounds. To do so, thorough integration of SNS with library business activities is required, which is, regrettably, only observable in a few circumstances. University libraries are boosting their use of SNS to provide more online support for the business community.

Colocation Cascade: Bringing Social Cascade to the Physical Space

The need to exploit the physical vicinity of mobile users in social platforms has never been more evident as increasingly more users access social networks from mobile devices. The effect of online social connections has already been shown as instrumental in spreading content and influence via social cascade. In this paper, we examine the phenomenon of social cascade when confined to the user's physical vicinity. We examine the intersection between patterns of both social cascade and physical colcoation. We combine traces of user mobility with models of online social cascade and show that content propagated via social cascade on online social networks are likely to be already cached on the devices of colocated peers.

Spatial Patterns of Purposeful Social Networking and Socioeconomic Influences: Towards a Mature, Inclusive Networked Society in the U.S.

Social media use in the United States has been steadily increasing over the past decade as various social media platforms have become the primary channel of online engagement for the American internet user. Today, Americans use social media to communicate with friends, family, and peers, access entertainment and education, engage in various business and commercial activities, and influence the lifestyles of consumers. As the spectrum of purposeful use of social media diversifies, this paper examines geographic patterns of social media adoption, diffusion, and utilization in U.S. counties. Alongside, the paper also examines demographic and socioeconomic determinants of purposeful social media utilization. Overall, the study sheds light on an important aspect of the contemporary digital divide in the United States.To examine purposeful social network and media use, the paper focuses on penetration of popular social media/networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube in U.S. counties. The purpose of use of such platforms – to engage in e-communication, e-commerce, e-entertainment, e-health, and e-education are also examined through the dual lenses of geographic and socioeconomic variations. By borrowing from Adoption-Diffusion Theory (ADT) and Spatially Aware Technology Utilization Model (SATUM), the paper’s conceptual framework posits associations of 18 independent variables with 17 indicators of social media penetration and purposeful usage. Spatial patterns and disparities of social media penetration and purposeful use are analyzed and provide important clues about the geography of the social media digital divide. For example, social media penetration and purposeful use in counties in the U.S. rural south are found to rival counties in the Rocky Mountain States and in some cases exceed counties in urban metropolitan areas in the West- and East Coasts. The presence of spatial bias in social media penetration and use is also diagnosed using spatial autocorrelation analysis. This in turn influences the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression-based analysis of socioeconomic, infrastructural, and social capital underpinnings. For a sample of 3,076 counties in the lower 48 states, leading determinants of purposeful social media use are found to be age structure, urbanization, race/ethnicity and professional, scientific, technical services and overall service sector occupations are found to influence social network access and purposeful use. These findings have important policy implications to broaden the reach and impacts of social media in the U.S.Overall, as the digital divide literature expands its focus from access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) to their actual use and ultimate impact, this study is unique due to its focus on purposeful use of social media. Sourcing data from a variety of public- and private sources, the study focuses on social media usage as well as access and sheds light on county-level disparities and their socioeconomic underpinnings. As purposeful internet use continues to diversify, the findings of this study can inform social media adoption, diffusion, and use policies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that all Americans can participate and engage in online activities and derive benefits in an equitable way.

Assessment of Women's Reproductive Empowerment in Rural and Urban Areas: A Comparitive Study

Background: Empowering women is a key factor for better social and economic development of different countries because women empowerment enables much more working force and improves performance of organizations. Aim: This study aimed to assess women's reproductive empowerment in rural and urban areas. Design: A cross sectional descriptive research design was used. Setting: This study was carried out at Maternal and Child Health Care Center at Talkha and Salamoon health facility, Delta, Egypt. Study subjects: A non-probability purposive sample of 334 women who were fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Tools A structured interview schedule to cover the data related to general characteristics and women’s reproductive empowerment questionnaire to assess women’s reproductive empowerment. Results: There were highly statistical significant differences regarding cultural, individual family, social and family planning domain scores among rural and urban women with more empowerment in urban women (p < 0.001). Also, the highest of women’s reproductive empowerment among urban and rural residents were found in cultural domain with Mean ±SD 20.3 ±4.5 and 18.1 ±5.8 respectively and the lowest scores among rural and urban women were found in family planning domain with Mean ±SD 17.7 ±3.1 and 14.9 ±4.7 respectively. Else, women’s reproductive empowerment among the studied group was significantly associated with their occupation, educational level and their husband's educational level (p >0.05). Conclusion: The current study question was answered where urban women were more empowered regarding cultural, individual family, social and family planning domains than rural women. Women occupation, educational level and husband's educational level had an effective role in reproductive empowerment. Recommendations: The current study recommended more involvement of woman in membership in rural institutions and access to social networks, also increase awareness of rural woman about their right, legal empowerment and decision-making.